Making collaboration more human, and visualizing thinking
Hi, I'm Rishal. I'm a technology professional from South Africa. I want to help everyone thrive through building solutions that make a difference, and sharing insights about my learnings.
Making remote more human with InteractsApp.com
Visualising thinking at Prolific Idea
Author of Grokking Artificial Intelligence Algorithms
I've been obsessed with computers, technology, and crazy ideas since childhood. Making silly games in VB6 and Delphi, and even writing bad articles about game graphic design in a local magazine as a teenager. Through my career I have been involved in the leadership of technology teams and projects, hands-on software engineering, strategic planning towards challenges in a professional services business, and the end-to-end design of solutions for international companies.
I have a passion for solving problems that make a difference, and my curiosity leads me to learn about business mechanics, growing people and teams, design thinking, artificial intelligence, and philosophy. I have created various digital products to help people and businesses be more productive and focus on what’s important. I also enjoy speaking at conferences around the globe to make complex concepts more accessible and help people elevate themselves. Forever learning.
Here's my Ikigai:
InteractsApp
During the pandemic of 2020, we were forced to remain at home, and work remotely. Through months of adapting our ways of working remotely, and after running dozens of remote sessions, I came to some conclusions about what makes for effective meetings and workshops. These learnings are distilled into InteractsApp.com aimed at helping any remote group of people engage, have more meaningful interactions, while (hopefully) having an enjoyable time.
Prolific Idea
PI houses all my crazy ideas, authoring, and speakership activities. Have a look at a project aimed at demystifying thinking and mental models visually: prolificidea.com. I'm available for talks and workshops. They are usually around building software solutions, design thinking, tech and business approaches, and the future of human-computer interaction. For more information, see my talks and workshops page. If you're interested, contact speaking@prolificidea.com with the details.
Grokking Artificial Intelligence Algorithms
I wrote Grokking Artificial Intelligence Algorithms. The book is a fully-illustrated and interactive tutorial guide to the different approaches and algorithms that underpin AI. Written in simple language and with lots of visual references and hands-on examples, you’ll learn the concepts, terminology, and theory you need to effectively incorporate AI algorithms into your applications. And to make sure you truly grok as you go, you’ll use each algorithm in practice with creative coding exercises—including building a maze puzzle game, performing diamond data analysis, and even exploring drone material optimization. Grab a copy at Manning Publications, check out the free online code notebook, or read my articles to learn some concepts for free.
Entelect
I spent over 11 years in technology consulting and solution delivery with Entelect where I served dozens of international clients in realising software solutions to enable and excel their businesses. Among other things, I was involved in active software engineering, product design, establishing agile ways of working, software architecture, team and division leadership, spearheading strategic initiatives, and finally establishing and running the advisory offering and team within Entelect. More about my carrer on LinkedIn.
Artificial Intelligence South Africa
I founded and run the Artificial Intelligence South Africa(AI ZA) group since 2016. The goal of this group is to create a platform for up skilling, knowledge sharing, and networking in the future tech space. The group has over 3000 members and we've hosted over 50 events. It's a space for people of all ages, skill levels, and walks of life to collaborate and grow together. Visit the Meetup page.